The GIANTS have had a tough off-season in terms of injuries, and were dealt a major blow Monday night when they lost fan favorite Terrell Thomas for the year. T2 will be sorely missed, he was the leading tackler on the team last year and those shoes will have to be filled by more than one player. But lets take a look at where we stand right now.
QB: Solid job by Eli Monday. He was a little wild with some of his throws, but was missing where no one could catch the ball, instead of in harms way. He made great reads and audibles at the line. Eli continues to be the leader of this offense, and a very unselfish one at that.
RB’S: The running game looked solid on Monday.. Both Ahmad Bradshaw and Jacobs looked stronger and faster. More importantly they both held onto the ball while fighting for yardage and staying aggressive.. Jacobs looked bigger and stronger. Bradshaw was his old fighting self. No worries here.
O-Line: The O-Line will be a work in progress throughout the year, but they did seem to communicate better and work as a unit more on Monday. The GIANTS will again use 6 linemen on certain downs, and also use their multiple tight end sets a lot this year. The pass protection was good. The Bears really only got pressure when they moved Julius Peppers to the opposite side, and that is something the GIANTS will game plan for in upcoming weeks.
WR’S: We all know that Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham are the numbers 1 and 2 receivers. After that a deep group is emerging as situational players. Victor Cruz looked good in routes and special teams, however his pre-snap reads need major improvement. The Giants do a lot of play changing at the line and Victor needs to be aware of where he needs to be, and when to be the hot receiver. Domenik Hixon looked good in the red zone, and I still think Devin Thomas will be a contributor on offense this year.
TE’S: The Giants have a few blocking tight ends, other than that they are still missing this piece of the puzzle. Travis Beckum can get open on the seam route that the Giants love to run, but Eli needs to trust him to be there, and that will take some work.
Defense: we still look like the side of the ball that will carry this team some weeks. I am glad that if injuries have to happen, that they have happened on Defense. The linebackers and D-Line will have to help the safeties and CB’s on obvious passing downs. Perry Fewell will have to devise some schemes to get the maximum out of the talent he has. They are deep on the D-line, and at line backer. Signing Deon Grant was and is now the best move of the off season. Look for different schemes with 5 linemen, 1 linebacker, and 3 safeties. This is a tough bunch with tons of talent, and they will be called upon to come together as a unit and carry this team. Osi will be back and then the rotation up front will be stout. Hopefully “The Prince” comes back by week 6 and provides a spark and some more talent to the secondary.
Special Teams: Lots of jobs were saved Monday night. Devin Thomas looked great on kick returns, and the young players that the GIANTS would like to keep on this roster proved they belonged. Greg Jones, Herzlich, Paysinger should all find a spot.
While I know some people have reacted violently to the injury news from Monday and Tuesday….it’s not the end, it’s the beginning, so take a step back and see where we can go from here